The Lord of Veins | Shadow Slave

Looking at the poster plastered on the cafeteria wall, a buck-toothed smiley face flashed its thumbs up, accompanied by the words:

 [Save the Children!] 

Zerin's expression contorted at the sight. 

"Save the children, my ass!" 

He muttered under his breath while clenching his fists in frustration. 

'What genius thought this was okay to put up here?!'

Pushing his empty tray aside, Zerin stood up and peeled at the clear tape securing the poster. A sharp whistle was blown, but ignoring it, Zerin continued to pick at the poster, only halting when the staff's voice interrupted him.

"Hey, leave the poster alone, kid!" The staff barked.

Zerin reluctantly complied with a heavy sigh.

He stood and walked away. After throwing his tray away, Zerin headed for the exit. But before he could leave, the staff member's hand landed on his shoulder.

"Hey kid...Your eyes...Do you feel fatigued?"

Zerin laughed nervously.

"Yes, I do. I can't sleep a wink. It's too damn cold in the Senior Division," Zerin said calmly to the staff member.

"How long has this been going on for?"

"The heating?"

Zerin furrowed his brow slightly in confusion.

"No, the damn fatigue! How long have you been fatigued?"

The staff member said with a hint of desperation.

"Only a day... Like I said, I didn't get a wink of sleep last night because the heating doesn't work."

Zerin reinstated, his voice getting louder as he had to repeat himself.

The staff member sighed in annoyance, shaking his head.

"Hey sir, can you sort this out for me? I know we haven't always gotten along, but I've been waiting for several days, and the senior division still doesn't have its heating fixed."

The staff member let go of Zerin's shoulder and lifted his head to look at the other kids in the cafeteria.

Zerin laughed internally, walking away from the staff member.

'This bastard still hates me! He has to get over it eventually, no?'

As Zerin left the cafeteria, he approached the junior division. Divisions were based on the age range of the children, with two divisions: the Junior division spanning from infants to middle schoolers, and the senior division consisting solely of high schoolers.

The orphanage had a layout that helped visitors find the kids they wanted to adopt. For example, the senior division was at the far end of the hallway, while the junior division was in the front, as most people preferred adopting younger children.

Zerin walked down the orphanage hallways, entering the Senior division. The bitter cold seeped in from the walls as he approached his room.

It was laughable to him how they managed to fix the junior division's heating problems but didn't care to fix the senior divisions. Eventually making it to his room, he had very few possessions, which he was fine with.

Stepping into his room, Zerin laid on his bed, worn down due to years of use. To make matters worse, the repairs Zerin made to it weren't much better; placing cinder blocks under a single box spring he used as a mattress really did nothing to improve its quality.

Being picked by families was the only hope an orphan could have. Though it had been several years since Zerin had arrived at the orphanage, he'd been there for so long that the only thing he had known was the orphanage.

He had friends of his own at the start, but eventually everyone from his age range got adopted and he never saw them again, leaving him the only one in the Senior Division. Therefore, it was extremely unlikely that Zerin would be picked now.

'Who wants to adopt a sixteen-year-old?'

Zerin sighed as he looked up at the ceiling of his room.

'At least I get warm food every day and It's real food unlike the synthetic food that most people get, so in that regard, I'm thankful.'

Yawning even more, Zerin pulled his old blanket that he had used since he was a young kid, its edges tattered, and curled up into a ball on the box spring, allowing the blanket to cover his lengthy body, and slowly faded into sleep.

In the darkness, a strange voice rang:

[Aspirant! Welcome to the Nightmare Spell. Prepare for your First Trial...]

Upon hearing the strange voice, he opened his eyes. Was he outside? No... he was in hell...